Bag Holder

ABSTRACT

A shaped elongate strap enables a plastic grocery bag to be used for trash disposal in a vehicle. It has a shaped headrest post gripping top portion at one end and a shaped grocery bag handle gripping portion at the other. The top portion encircles both headrest posts, allowing the strap to drape over the shoulder of the seat so that the bag gripping portion hangs between the seats. The bag gripping portion comprises two spaced-apart hook parts for the bag handles.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A BIOLOGICAL SEQUENCE LISTING

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Field of the Invention

This invention is in the field of containment of trash in vehicles aswell as prevention of littering on the highways.

Description of the Related Art

An existing way of containing trash in a vehicle and preventinglittering is a small trash can placed on the floor or other levelsurface such as a center console. Providing a means for preventing thecan from tipping over is to add weight or flaps or both to the bottom,such as can be opened for viewing on a Web browser at:http://sell.lulusoso.com/selling-leads/1142984/car-waste-bin-car-trash-bin-car-waste-container.mht.A disadvantage to this is that if such a container cannot be positionedon a center console or on the floor between passengers, it takes up legroom somewhere else on the floor (and might be knocked over anyway as aresult of being kicked).

One way of surmounting this difficulty is taught by several patents andpatent applications which suspend a trash receptacle from a seat partsuch as the top of the seat back, the seat back pocket behind the seat,or the headrest. Most of these contain rigid parts which can bedangerous to occupants in the event of a sudden stop or crash. Thosethat suspend from the top of the seat back or the seat back pocket arenot conveniently used by front seat passengers. There is a U.S. patenton trash receptacles suspended between the front seats, U.S. Pat. No.5,868,294, but it involves specially-fabricated receptacles, and hangingmechanisms that either span from the driver's headrest to thepassenger's or require snaps sewn into the sides of the seats. Thispatent also discloses a receptacle with hooks for hanging over themiddle of a bench-style front seat, but bench-style front seats areincreasingly rare. The devices described in this patent are complexand/or require special installation.

A U.K. patent publication, no. GB2439323, describes a way of suspendingan essentially cost-free ordinary plastic grocery bag from one of theheadrest supporting posts using a flexible strap, but still not in aposition convenient to the front seat passengers. Similar drawbacks areassociated with U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,019. The '019 patent describes anelongate strap with a plurality of “hooks” (slots or grooves) cut intoit at either end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,614 describes a headrest-mountedhanger that performs a similar function using both of the two headrestsupporting posts on one of the front seats to suspend basically any bagwith a strap close to the side of the seat. While it is true that theflexible hanger of U.K. publication GB2439323 and the hanger of U.S.Pat. No. 5,791,614 appear to be low in manufacturing cost, and capableof hanging a plastic grocery bag, neither of these hold the handles ofsuch a bag apart so that trash can be put into the bag with one hand.The former of these has the further disadvantage of swinging on theheadrest post during travel, and the latter has the further disadvantageof the bag handle slipping off the hanger during travel.

There is thus a need for an apparatus that permits hanging a recyclableand cost-free bag securely between the front seats and holding thehandles apart regardless of the motion of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No.8,944,302 by the instant inventor, granted Feb. 3, 2015, describes aplastic bag holder that is similar to the instant invention, however theinstant invention represents a significant improvement in terms ofaccessibility and safety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The instant invention is an elongate strap that, by itself, enables aplastic grocery bag to be used conveniently and inexpensively for trashdisposal in a vehicle. It has a specially-shaped headrest post seat topportion at one end and a specially-shaped bag handle seat side portionat the other. The shaped seat top portion is placed to securely encircleboth headrest posts on a vehicle seat, allowing the strap to drape overthe shoulder of the seat so that the seat side portion hangs between theseats, while projecting the seat side portion forward to make it moreaccessible to receive waste and less intrusive into the legroom of therear seat. The seat side portion comprises two spaced-apart hook partswhich hold the handles of a plastic grocery bag apart for easy disposalof trash by either the left or the right seat occupant, as well asoccupants of the seat behind the front seats. A shaped center portion ofthe device is much more flexible in the elongate direction than in thetransverse direction so that it can easily drape over seat shoulders ofvarying widths and shapes, while at the same time maintaining the normalinclination of the seat and resisting the tendency of the strap to floprearward under the weight of the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the invention in place on the frontpassenger's seat of a vehicle as seen from behind the driver's seat.

FIG. 2 is a front, flattened out, view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the invention.

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the invention from the front.

FIG. 9 is a view of the invention in place on the side of a vehicleseat.

FIG. 10 is a simplified oblique view of the invention in place on thefront passenger's seat of a vehicle as seen from behind the driver'sseat.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the invention in place on the front passenger'sseat of a vehicle.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are front views of a second embodiment of the inventioncomprising an optional sleeve.

FIG. 14 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout of theinvention gripping the rear handle of a plastic grocery bag under steadyvehicle motion.

FIG. 15 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout of theinvention gripping the rear handle of a plastic grocery bag under suddenacceleration.

FIG. 16 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout of theinvention while the rear handle of a plastic grocery bag is beingremoved from it.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, in which like reference characters referto like elements among the drawings, it is to be noted that reference toplacement within a vehicle is under the assumption that the vehicle is aleft-hand-drive vehicle. The invention as described here is thereforeconstructed so as to be placed optimally on the right hand (passenger's)front seat of such a vehicle. This invention is not restricted to thatshape, however, and may be constructed in the mirror image of that whichis shown here and still be fully within the scope of this invention.Such a device could be installed on a seat mounted on the left side of avehicle.

Dashed lines indicate structure that is environmental to the invention.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the invention in place on the frontpassenger's seat 1 of a vehicle as seen from behind the driver's seat(not shown). The invention comprises three parts, a shaped seat topportion 10 generally disposed along the top 2 of a vehicle seat 1 belowthe headrest 5, a flexible middle portion 19 generally disposed over theshoulder 18 of the vehicle seat, and a shaped seat side portion 12generally disposed vertically along the side of the seat closest to thecenterline of the vehicle. The seat top portion 10 comprises a firstheadrest post slot 14 which engages the first headrest support post 6closest to the vehicle door (farthest from the centerline of thevehicle) and a second headrest post slot 15 which engages the headrestsupport post 7 nearest the centerline of the vehicle. These post slotsare specially shaped in accordance with the instant invention to securethe invention to the headrest posts in such a way as to prevent theinvention from being dislodged by motion of the vehicle or ordinaryactivity of the passengers. The first headrest post slot 14 comprises asubstantially obround hole 23 disposed along the seat top portion 10 ofthe invention parallel to its forward edge 24. The seat top portion 10of the invention is mounted on the first headrest support post 6 bypushing the seat top portion 10 toward the first headrest post 6 througha first access slot 9 connecting the forward edge 24 of the seat topportion 10 to the obround hole 23. The second headrest post slot 15 is aV-shaped cavity in the seat top portion 10 beginning with an entryway 20on the rearward edge 22 of the seat top portion 10 of the invention andending with a second headrest post collar 26 which partially encirclesthe second headrest post 7. The seat top portion 10 of the invention ismounted on the second headrest support post 7 by sliding the seat topportion of the invention to the left or right in this view whilemaintaining the first headrest post 6 within the obround hole 23 untilthe second headrest post 7 is proximate to the entryway 20. The secondheadrest post 7 is then snapped around the post collar 26 by pulling theseat top portion 10 towards the second headrest post 7 until the post 7pops through the flexible tabs 27 and 28.

The flexible middle portion 19 is shown here comprised of aconcatenation of parallel semi-cylindrical corrugations 91 which aredesigned to make the middle portion more flexible in a directionfollowing the contour of the seat shoulder 18 and less flexible in adirection perpendicular to that. It is within the scope of thisinvention that the corrugations 91 could have alternative cross-sectionssuch as accordion pleats or parallel variations in material thickness asexamples without limitation which should be regarded as equivalent. Themiddle portion could, within the scope of this invention, be flat, inwhich case it would still flex more easily in the elongate (over theshoulder) direction than in the transverse direction merely because thelength is greater than the width. The corrugations 91 demonstrablymagnify the resistance to flexion in the transverse direction.

The seat side portion 12 of the invention has rear and front hook parts16 and 17 respectively for removably securing the handles of a waste bag3 to the invention (See also FIGS. 11-13). These hook parts arespecially shaped in accordance with the instant invention to secure thehandles of a waste bag to the seat side portion 12 in such a way as holdthe handles apart and prevent the bag from being inadvertently dislodgedby motion of the vehicle or ordinary activity of the passengers.

Many of the details shown in FIG. 1 are also shown for additionalclarity in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a front view of the invention flattenedout, that is, not in place on a vehicle seat. Note that the line A-A′passing through the centers of the headrest posts 6 and 7 is notparallel to the forward and rearward edges 24 and 22 of the invention.This will be the case no matter where headrest post 6 lies withinobround 23 (i.e., no matter what the separation of the headrest posts isfor a particular model of vehicle). This is intentional, and has theeffect of angling the seat side portion 12 of the invention fartherforward relative to the seat back (which will be substantially parallelto the line A-A′). For further explanation, see FIG. 11.

The shape of the hook parts 16 and 17 is designed to retain the handlesof a plastic bag reliably during travel without making them difficult todetach for disposal (see also FIGS. 11-13). The rear and front hookparts 16 and 17 respectively each have a funnel portion 28 and 29respectively which serves as a guide for inserting the rear and fronthandles of a waste bag (not shown) into the seat side portion 12 of theinvention. Pulling down on the one handle of a bag will force it throughthe rear nip 210 and into the rear teardrop hole 212. Likewise, pullingdownward on the other handle of the bag will force it through the frontnip 211 and into the front teardrop hole 213.

Note that the general J-shape of the invention puts the front hookcutout 17 well forward of the line A-A′. This places the waste bagforward of where it would be otherwise and generally more accessible tothe front seat occupants. The rearward edge 22 comprises a recess 30which enables rear hook cutout 16 to be accessed by a rear trash baghandle while not protruding into the rear passengers' leg area andposing a potential catch hazard to rear occupants.

Note also that the line B-B′, joining the centers of holes 212 and 213,is not horizontal. This is to take into account that seat backs invehicles are rarely set to vertical even if they can be so adjusted.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the invention.

FIG. 8 is an oblique view of the invention from the front.

FIG. 9 is a view of the invention in place on the side 90 of a vehicleseat 1. The flexible middle portion 19 of the invention comprises aseries of parallel corrugations 91 which are all at an acute non-zeroangle α from line B-B′. This arrangement of corrugations 91 forces themiddle portion 19 to drape over the shoulder 18 of the seat 1 in adirection that conforms to the incline of the seat 1 rather than thevertical. Normally, the incline of the front seats in a vehicle isadjustable, but in this invention the angle α has been selected to beclose to the normal incline of a seat rather than the zero inclinetaught by U.S. Pat. No. 8,944,302.

FIG. 10 is a simplified oblique view of the invention in place on thefront passenger's seat 1 of a vehicle as seen from behind the driver'sseat. It shows how the drape of the invention over the shoulder of theseat is controlled by the angle α between all corrugations, e.g., 101and 102, and horizontal plane 103, being equal in all vertical planescontaining such corrugations, e.g., planes 104 and 105 respectively.Planes 101 and 102 are indicated by dash-dot lines and plane 103 isindicated by bold dash-dot-dot lines.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the invention in place on the top 2 of thefront passenger's seat 1 of a vehicle. It is draped at left over theshoulder 18 of the seat. Note that the line A-A′ passing through thecenters of the headrest posts 6 and 7 is not parallel to the forward andrearward edges 24 and 22 of the invention. This will be the case nomatter where headrest post 6 lies within obround 23 (i.e., no matterwhat the separation of the headrest posts is for a particular model ofvehicle). This is intentional, and has the effect of angling the seatside portion 12 of the invention farther forward relative to the seatback 111 by a distance D, the distance between the seat top portion 10of the invention and its dashed outline 10′ were it not angled forward.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are front views of a second embodiment of the inventioncomprising an optional decorative sleeve 120. FIG. 12 shows the sleeve120 before placement on the elongate strap of the invention. The sleeve120 is comprised of flexible sheet material, e.g., cloth, formed into ahollow cylinder and sized to slip over and downward past the seat topportion 10 and be removably fixed on a substantially rectangular part124 of the flexible middle portion 19. The ends of the sleeve 120 havecuffs 121 with elastic bands 122 sewn in or fastened thereabout. In thisembodiment, the flexible middle portion 19 of the elongate strapcomprises cutouts 123 positioned to receive the elastic bands 122. FIG.13 shows the sleeve 120 in place around the flexible middle portion 19.The sleeve 120 may be optionally decorated with a pattern, an insignia,logo, etc.

FIG. 14 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout 16 of theinstant invention gripping one handle 8 of a plastic grocery bag understeady vehicle motion. The rear nip 210 will keep the handle fromemerging from the rear teardrop hole 212 during a sudden downwardacceleration of the vehicle (as would occur driving over a deep pothole,for example).

FIG. 15 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout 16 of theinstant invention gripping one handle 8 of a grocery bag under suddenacceleration. The combined force of gravity and forward accelerationpull the bag and its contents in the direction C. However, no reasonablemovement of the vehicle would rotate the bag handle 8 far enough upwardor with enough force to pull it through the rear nip 210 and out of therear teardrop hole 212.

FIG. 16 is a close-up perspective view of the rear hook cutout 16 of theinstant invention while a person is removing the trash bag handle fromthe rear hook cutout 16. Here, a person is holding the seat side portion12 with his or her left fingers 50 while pulling the bag handle 8 upwardwith the fingers of his or her right hand 51. Because the material ofthe seat side portion 12 is flexible and because the teardrop hole 212is teardrop-shaped with the narrow part leading upward to the nip 210,it is a simple matter for any person to pull the handle 8 through therear nip 210.

The foregoing is a description of preferred embodiments of theinvention. In other embodiments, this invention may be modified for usein other vehicles (e.g., boats and aircraft) and for use in the home. Inthese circumstances the seat side portion may be connected to a seatback portion modified to suspend the invention from fixtures within suchother vehicles and residences.

1. A bag holder, comprising: an elongate strap having a top end, abottom end, a forward-facing edge, a rearward-facing edge, and aflexible middle portion connecting the top end and the bottom end; aseat top portion proximate to the top end and shaped to be placedbetween a vehicle seat headrest and the top of a vehicle seat; theflexible middle portion shaped to drape over the shoulder of the vehicleseat; and a seat side portion proximate to the bottom end, affixed tothe middle portion, and shaped to hang in a substantially vertical planealongside the vehicle seat; the seat top portion comprising: a firstheadrest post slot shaped to engage the vehicle headrest post farthestfrom the centerline of the vehicle; and a second headrest post slotshaped to engage the vehicle headrest post closest to the centerline ofthe vehicle; the flexible middle portion extending from the seat topportion toward the centerline of the vehicle and downward over theshoulder of the vehicle seat, and comprising parallel corrugations; andthe seat side portion comprising: a first hook part for a trash baghandle comprising a first hook hole having a first center; and a secondhook part for a trash bag handle comprising a second hook hole having asecond center; the angle in a vertical plane between the corrugationsand a horizontal plane containing the line joining the first center andthe second center is an acute non-zero angle α; the vertex of the acutenon-zero angle α facing rearward.
 2. The bag holder of claim 1, wherein:said first headrest post slot comprises an obround hole with aforward-facing opening, and an elongate axis substantially parallel withsaid forward-facing edge; and said second headrest post slot comprises acircular hole with an opening toward said rearward-facing edge; thecenter of the circular hole being closer to said rearward-facing edgethan said elongate axis.
 3. The bag holder of claim 2, wherein: saidsecond headrest post slot comprises a means for gripping a headrestpost.
 4. The bag holder of claim 3, wherein: said means for grippingcomprises a pair of resilient opposing tabs that must be forced apart bythe headrest post both to seat the headrest post within said circularhole and to remove the headrest post from said circular hole.
 5. The bagholder of claim 4, wherein: said second hook part for a trash bag handlecomprises an upward-facing nip connecting downwardly into said secondhook hole, the upward-facing nip having an upward-pointing flukesubstantially aligned with said rearward-facing edge so that theupward-facing nip is forward of said rearward-facing edge.
 6. The bagholder of claim 5, wherein: said middle portion comprises asubstantially rectangular part and said seat top portion is shaped toallow a hollow sleeve to be slid onto said middle portion from said topend; and said substantially rectangular part comprises means forretaining the hollow sleeve.
 7. The bag holder of claim 6, wherein: saidhollow sleeve comprises a cylinder of flexible material with an upperopening and a lower opening, the upper and lower openings eachcomprising upper and lower elastic cuffs, respectively; and said meansfor retaining said hollow sleeve comprises an upper and a lower pair ofnotches in said substantially rectangular part shaped to grip theelastic cuffs.
 8. A bag holder, comprising: means for gripping a vehicleseat, the seat comprising: a back support capable of being inclined atangles to the vertical including an acute angle α; a substantiallyplanar seat top lying in a plane substantially perpendicular to the backsupport; a substantially vertical seat side proximate to the centerlineof the vehicle and connected to the seat top by a seat shoulder; thecenterline of the vehicle defining a forward direction toward the frontof the vehicle and a rearward direction toward the rear of the vehicle;a headrest supported above the seat top by at least a first headrestpost and a second headrest post; the bag holder further comprising; aplanar seat top portion comprising means for gripping the first andsecond headrest posts; the intersection of the plane of the seat topportion with the first and second headrest posts being a first circleand a second circle having a first post center and a second post center;the first post center and second post center being connected by a postcenterline; a seat side portion comprising: a first hook part for atrash bag handle comprising a first hook hole having a first holecenter; and a second hook part for a trash bag handle comprising asecond hook hole having a second hole center, the second hole centerbeing rearward of the first hole center; the first and second holecenters being connected by a hole centerline; an elongate flexiblemiddle portion comprising parallel corrugations and connecting the seattop portion and the seat side portion along an axis; the corrugationshave a maximum rearward extent; the axis being perpendicular to thecorrugations and passing through the second post center; the angle in avertical plane between any corrugation and the horizontal planecontaining the hook hole centerline being an acute angle α; and theangle in a horizontal plane between the axis and the post centerlinebeing an acute angle β.
 9. The bag holder of claim 8, wherein: saidmeans for gripping said first headrest post is an obround hole with amajor axis substantially parallel with said axis, said first headrestpost being inserted into the obround hole through a first access slot;and said means for gripping said second headrest post is a secondheadrest post collar, accessed by aligning said second headrest postwith an entryway and snapping said second headrest post into the secondheadrest post collar through resilient tabs.
 10. The bag holder of claim9, wherein: said resilient tabs oppose each other on either side of saidentryway and must be forced apart by said second headrest post both toseat said second headrest post within said second headrest post collarand to remove the headrest post from said circular second headrest postcollar.
 11. The bag holder of claim 8, wherein: said second hook partfor a trash bag handle comprises an upward-facing nip connectingdownwardly into said second hook hole, the upward-facing nip having anupward-pointing fluke that is forward of said maximum rearward extent.12. The bag holder of claim 8, wherein: said middle portion comprises asubstantially rectangular part and said seat top portion is shaped toallow a hollow sleeve to be slid over said seat top portion onto saidmiddle portion; and said substantially rectangular part comprises meansfor retaining the hollow sleeve.
 13. The bag holder of claim 12,wherein: said hollow sleeve comprises a cylinder of flexible materialwith an upper opening and a lower opening, the upper and lower openingseach comprising upper and lower elastic cuffs, respectively; and saidmeans for retaining said hollow sleeve comprises an upper and a lowerpair of notches in said substantially rectangular part.